Fleeing motorcyclist crashes in Clinton Township

A man fleeing police in Clinton Township on Thursday afternoon crashed his motorcycle into a vehicle at a busy intersection, causing a two-hour traffic jam.

The man, who police did not identify, was reported to be in temporary serious condition at McLaren Macomb hospital in Mount Clemens with severe leg injuries.

According to police, the man was involved in a domestic dispute with a former girlfriend where he threatened her with a handgun he had stashed in a backpack. He then drove off on his motorcycle.

A Fraser police officer spotted him near 15 Mile Road and Groesbeck Highway and attempted to pull him over about 4:25 p.m., but the man sped off northbound on Groesbeck.

Officers spotted the motorcycle on Groesbeck and started to follow him when he drove in the center turn lane and ran a red light at 16 Mile Road. He then crashed into a Jeep, flew into the air and landed in front of a Penske rental truck that was stopped for the traffic light. No one in the Jeep was hurt. The motorcycle was described as a sporty “crotch-rocket” model.

“He went right through the intersection and when I saw him hit the Jeep, I thought ‘Oh my god,’ and he came flying at me,” said a man driving the rental truck who did not want to be identified.

Kara Scotta of Clinton Township was also stopped in traffic with her two daughters when she witnessed the crash. Her first instinct was to get out of her vehicle and try to help the motorcyclist.

“I jumped out to see if we could help him,” Scotta said. “He was on the ground, moaning. I told him ‘Don’t move, stay there until help comes.’ It was a horrible thing to see.”

Denise Homan of Harrison Township was coming back from taking her mother to a dialysis appointment when she saw the motorcycle and its rider flying through the air and crash.

“I’ve never seen anything like that,” said Homan, a former 12-year school bus driver. “Then the police officers were surrounding him yelling ‘Where’s the gun, where’s the gun.’”

Police said the weapon was recovered at the crash scene.

Officers were forced to divert traffic on northbound and southbound Groesbeck for up to two hours during the evening rush hour as police conducted their investigation. The intersection was finally reopened about 6:30 p.m.